By Mélanie, on Monday, December 14, 2009

This is a very special occasion for me. I know that I have not been very active on this blog lately (well, ok, 4 months is maybe a little more than “lately”), but you’re always there for the subjects closest to my heart.My last entry was meant to share with you my respect for locally grown, fresh, natural produces, and the hard work of farmers and producers. This helps me to trust food again, and accept that it represents life.

And this is the most important point: yes, food is life. But millions of people in the world don’t have access to the food they need. We can’t let them starve without doing anything.I’ve felt concerned about this subject ever since I saw this campaign from Action against Hunger in 1998 (their website is there in English, or in French).

So of course, the sixth edition of the Menu for Hope, started by Chez Pim, is a wonderful occasion for everyone, including you, to win a food related prize while feeling good about raising money for a great cause!

Menu for Hope is an annual fund raising campaign that support the UN World Food Programm. As Pim explains, “each December, food bloggers from all over the world join the campaign by offering a delectable array of food-related prizes for the Menu for Hope raffle. Anyone – and that means you too – can buy raffle tickets to bid on these prizes. For every $10 donated, you earn one virtual raffle ticket to bid on a prize of your choice. At the end of the two-week campaign, the raffle tickets are drawn and the results announced on Chez Pim.”For more details on this fundraiser, please visit Chez Pim .You can make your (tax-deductible) donation online through FirstGiving. We, bloggers, never touch the money. But we will send to the winners some delicious packages, such as :

Start your culinary travel in Brittany with hand harvested fleur de sel from Guérande and sea salt toffees, and continue in Burgundy with this 3 kinds of Dijon mustard from Edmond Fallot. In addition to the classical Dijon mustard and the mustard seeds, the tarragon perfumed one will add an unexpected touch of color to your dressing .You’ll also find a beautiful box of Marco Polo tea from the famous Mariage Frères (yes, the one Blair’s mother brought back from Paris on Monday’s episode of Gossip Girl), along with heart shaped sugars.And of course, you wouldn’t think of a box without chocolate! You’ll find 3 different kinds of Valrhona dark (Caraïbe and Manjari Orange) and milk chocolate (Jivara pecan) (total 400g), as well as a box of pure cocoa powder. I don’t need to tell you that Valrhona is THE chocolate used by the best pastry chefs in the world. Once you’ll taste them, you’ll know why.

This prize ships worldwide.

I have no doubt you’ll enjoy it. Believe me, the toughest will be to do without them once the packages are finished!

Please go to the Firstgiving Donation Site to bid on this. Last year, Menu for Hope raised about $90,000. Help us do even better this year! You can check David's site to find out the other bid item for the European region.

Thank you so much for your support!

(A little explanation in French, and you’ll find the bidding instructions at the bottom of this post.)

Here's what you need to do:1. Choose a bid item or bid items of your choice from our Menu for Hope main bid item list.2. Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation.3. Please specify which bid item you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per bid item, and please use the bid item code.Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a bid item of your choice. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02 - 2xEU01, 3xEU02.4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

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